Bitran M, Torres G, Fournier A, St Pierre S, Huidobro-Toro J P
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, P. Catholic University of Chile, Santiago.
Eur J Pharmacol. 1991 Oct 15;203(2):267-74. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(91)90723-4.
The potency of neuropeptide Y (NPY) to inhibit the electrically induced contractions of the epididymal half of the vas deferens diminishes markedly with age, being at least 20 times lower in the adult than in the 26-day-old rat. Castration sensitizes the epididymal segment to NPY in a testosterone-reversible manner. [Pro34]NPY was 3 times less potent than NPY in prepubertal rats and inactive in castrated adults, while NPY-(13-36) had no effect in either group. In the prostatic half, NPY and its analogs were active in rats from all ages studied; the order of potency being NPY greater than [Pro34]NPY greater than NPY-(13-36). The sensitivity of the prostatic segment from adult rats to NPY was unchanged by castration or testosterone replacement therapy. The NPY content of the ductus increases during development being higher in the prostatic than in the epididymal half at all ages studied. Castration decreases the peptide content in the two segments and the effect is prevented by testosterone administration. The present investigation demonstrated that the effect of NPY on vas deferens neurotransmission is subject to regulation by sex steroids, which affects differently the response of the two segments of the ductus.
神经肽Y（NPY）抑制输精管附睾段电诱导收缩的效力随年龄增长而显著降低，在成年大鼠中至少比26日龄大鼠低20倍。去势以一种可被睾酮逆转的方式使附睾段对NPY敏感。在青春期前大鼠中，[Pro34]NPY的效力比NPY低3倍，在去势成年大鼠中无活性，而NPY-(13 - 36)在两组中均无作用。在输精管前列腺段，NPY及其类似物在所有研究年龄的大鼠中均有活性；效力顺序为NPY大于[Pro34]NPY大于NPY-(13 - 36)。成年大鼠前列腺段对NPY的敏感性不受去势或睾酮替代疗法的影响。在发育过程中，输精管的NPY含量增加，在所研究的所有年龄中，前列腺段的含量均高于附睾段。去势会降低两段中的肽含量，而睾酮给药可阻止这种作用。本研究表明，NPY对输精管神经传递的作用受性类固醇调节，这对输精管两段的反应有不同影响。
